Tooth segmentation based on anatomical edge information

ABSTRACT

Provided herein are orthodontic systems and methods for automatically segmenting a person&#39;s teeth. Systems, methods and processes are provided to properly segment the teeth of a person&#39;s teeth from an image of the person&#39;s face showing at least some of the person&#39;s teeth (e.g., dental arch). Methods and systems are provided to automatically detect dental edges after a dental scan. Also described herein are methods and systems for generating a simulated image of the person&#39;s face from the final segmentation of the person&#39;s teeth in which the segmented teeth have been moved from their original position, including a new position based on an orthodontic treatment plan.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/674,964, titled “TOOTH SEGMENTATION BASED ON LIP,GINGIVA AND TOOTH EDGE INFORMATION,” filed on May 22, 2018, which isherein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

All publications and patent applications mentioned in this specificationare incorporated herein by reference in their entirety to the sameextent as if each individual publication or patent application wasspecifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The boundaries of a person's teeth can be difficult to automaticallyidentify using dental computing technologies without human intervention.Segmentation of an image (or images) of a person's teeth may be usefulfor accurate modeling and simulation of the person's teeth, and may helpto visualize teeth arrangements and/or simulate treatment outcomes.

It may be particularly difficult to identify the boundaries betweenindividual teeth from 2D images which include only a portion of aperson's teeth. For instance, 2D images may partially or completelyobscure a person's teeth by the person's lips. As another example, teethcrowding problems, e.g., in which adjacent teeth are misaligned, mayalso make it difficult to determine the interstices between teeth.Variations in tooth shapes also make outlining tooth contours difficult.Additionally, the gingiva/lip/tooth interface in some persons canobscure or obstruct portions of some or all teeth, adding to thedifficulty of automatic segmentation.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Various implementations address one or more needs to accurately simulatetreatment outcomes and/or visualize identify teeth, gingiva, and lips incomputer models to accurately segment individual teeth from atwo-dimensional image and/or scan of a person's face which includes theperson's smile (e.g., lips and teeth). The methods and apparatuses(e.g., systems, devices, etc.) described herein may provide for accurateand/or rapid automatic segmentation of a person's teeth from atwo-dimensional (2D) image of the person's face in which at least someof the patent's teeth (e.g., four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,etc.) are at least partially visible for either the top arch, the bottomarch, or both the top and bottom arch.

The methods and apparatuses described herein may use the segmented teethto generate a simulated image of the person's face in which thesegmented teeth are moved from their original position in order to model(e.g., simulate) the effect of an orthodontic treatment plan. Multiplesimulations may be generated. Based on these one or more simulations,the person and/or a dental professional may select and/or modify anorthodontic treatment plan. An orthodontic treatment plan may include,for example, the use of a series of dental aligners for moving theperson's teeth.

For example, an orthodontic treatment method may include: receiving, ina processor, an image of a person's face including at least a portionthe person's dental arch; automatically detecting tooth edges, gingivaedges, and lip edges from the image; generating, from the tooth edges,gingiva edges and lip edges, a gingiva/lip line, a tooth line and atooth-tooth edges; forming, in the processor, an initial segmentation ofthe person's teeth from the tooth line, the tooth-tooth edges, andgingiva/lip line; and processing, in the processor, the initialsegmentation of the person's teeth to form a final segmentation of theperson's teeth.

Any appropriate technique may be used to detect the edges of the lips,gingiva and/or teeth from the two-dimensional image of the person'steeth. For example, one or more machine learning techniques may be usedto detect the edges of the person's lips, gingiva and/or teeth from theimage. Machine-learning edge detection may include, but is not limitedto Holistically-Nested Edge Detection (HED). Any machine-learning edgedetector(s) providing lip, gingiva and tooth edges may be used with thesegmentation methods and apparatuses described herein. The methods andapparatuses described herein may be fully automatic, without requiringhuman intervention, and/or semi-automatic, with some human intervention.

In any of the methods described herein, the method may also includeapplying noise reduction to the detected tooth edges, gingiva edges, andlip edges. For example, the noise reduction may include (but is notlimited to) one or more of: determining local maximum, thinning, orshortest path algorithm(s). The processing step may further includeapplying noise reduction to the initial segmentation result.

The step of generating the gingiva/lip line, the tooth line and thetooth-tooth edges may include: forming the gingiva/lip line from thegingiva edges and lip edges; forming the tooth line from the tooth edgesand lip edges; and/or forming the tooth-tooth edges from the tooth line,the gingiva/lip line and the tooth edges.

In any of these methods, processing the initial segmentation of theperson's teeth to form the final segmentation of the person's teeth mayinclude applying region growing to at least one closed region of theinitial segmentation result. Closed regions smaller than a regionthreshold may be removed from the initial segmentation result.

As mentioned, any of these methods may also include generating,transmitting and/or displaying (e.g., presenting) a simulated image ofthe person's face from the final segmentation of the person's teeth anda treatment plan for moving the person's teeth. For example, thesimulated image may be generated from the image of the person's face inwhich the region of interest, e.g., the person's mouth between the lipline(s), is modified by moving the segmented teeth to simulate theeffect of an orthodontic treatment plan. The orthodontic treatment planmay be simulated from a person-specific treatment plan that has beencalculated based on the person's own dentition, or it may be simulatedfrom a generic template (e.g., predicted tooth movements based onpopulation data, or based on prior, similar persons, or the like).

In some variations, these methods may include allowing the person toselect among a plurality of simulated images in order to select ormodify an orthodontic treatment plan. In some variations, these methodsmay include selecting a treatment plan and/or generating a series oforthodontic appliances from a treatment plan.

The methods and apparatuses (e.g., systems) described herein may be usedto simulate static (e.g., still, single-frame) two-dimensional imagesusing the edge detection methods described herein and/or they may beused to generate animations (e.g., videos). Any of these method andapparatuses may include displaying simulated person's smile. In somevariation, the methods and apparatuses described herein may be used tofor tracking (e.g., progress tracking) during an orthodontic treatment.In some variations, the methods and apparatuses may be used to assessorthodontic appliance (e.g., aligner) fit.

For example, an orthodontic treatment method may include: receiving, ina processor, an image of a person's face including at least a portionthe person's dental arch; automatically detecting tooth edges, gingivaedges, and lip edges from the image; combining, in the processor thegingiva edges and lip edges to form a gingiva/lip line; combining, inthe processor the tooth edges and lip edges to form a tooth line;combining, in the processor the tooth line, the gingiva/lip line and thetooth edges to form a tooth-tooth edges; forming, in the processor, aninitial segmentation of the person's teeth from the tooth line, thetooth-tooth edges, and gingiva/lip line; processing, in the processor,the initial segmentation of the person's teeth to form a finalsegmentation of the person's teeth; and presenting a simulated image ofthe person's face from the final segmentation of the person's teeth anda treatment plan for moving the person's teeth.

Also described herein are systems, e.g., dental treatment systems,including systems for generating, storing, transmitting, and/ordisplaying a simulation of a person's face including the person's teethbased on automatic segmentation of the person's teeth from atwo-dimensional image of the person's face. For example, a system mayinclude: one or more processors; and one or more storage media coupledto the one or more processors and storing instructions that, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, performs a computer-implementedmethod comprising: receiving, in the one or more processors, an image ofa person's face including at least a portion the person's dental arch;automatically detecting tooth edges, gingiva edges, and lip edges fromthe image; generating, from the tooth edges, gingiva edges and lipedges, a gingiva/lip line, a tooth line and a tooth-tooth edges;forming, in the processor, an initial segmentation of the person's teethfrom the tooth line, the tooth-tooth edges, and gingiva/lip line; andprocessing, in the processor, the initial segmentation of the person'steeth to form a final segmentation of the person's teeth.

The instructions may be configured to perform the computer-implementedmethod further comprising applying noise reduction to the detected toothedges, gingiva edges, and lip edges. For example, the noise reductionmay comprise a local maximum, thinning, and/or shortest path algorithm.The instructions may be configured to perform the computer-implementedmethod further comprising applying noise reduction to the initialsegmentation result.

The instructions may be configured to perform the computer-implementedmethod further comprising applying region growing to at least one closedregion of the initial segmentation result. The instructions may beconfigured to perform the computer-implemented method further comprisingremoving closed regions smaller than a region threshold from the initialsegmentation result.

Generating may include: forming the gingiva/lip line from the gingivaedges and lip edges; forming the tooth line from the tooth edges and lipedges; and/or forming the tooth-tooth edges from the tooth line, thegingiva/lip line and the tooth edges.

The instructions may be configured to present a simulated image of theperson's face from the final segmentation of the person's teeth and atreatment plan for moving the person's teeth. Presenting may includetransmitting and/or displaying (e.g., displaying to the person and/ordental professional) the simulated image.

For example a system may include: one or more processors; and one ormore storage media coupled to the one or more processors and storinginstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, performsa computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, in a processor, animage of a person's face including at least a portion the person'sdental arch; automatically detecting tooth edges, gingiva edges, and lipedges from the image; combining, in the processor the gingiva edges andlip edges to form a gingiva/lip line; combining, in the processor thetooth edges and lip edges to form a tooth line; combining, in theprocessor the tooth line, the gingiva/lip line and the tooth edges toform a tooth-tooth edges; forming, in the processor, an initialsegmentation of the person's teeth from the tooth line, the tooth-toothedges, and gingiva/lip line; processing, in the processor, the initialsegmentation of the person's teeth to form a final segmentation of theperson's teeth; and presenting a simulated image of the person's facefrom the final segmentation of the person's teeth and a treatment planfor moving the person's teeth.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity inthe claims that follow. A better understanding of the features andadvantages of the present invention will be obtained by reference to thefollowing detailed description that sets forth illustrative embodiments,in which the principles of the invention are utilized, and theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1A is a diagram showing an example of a computing environmentconfigured to digitally capture two-dimensional (2D) representations ofa dental arch.

FIG. 1B is a diagram showing an example of a tooth processing engine(s).

FIG. 1C is a diagram showing an example of a gingiva processingengine(s).

FIG. 1D is a diagram showing an example of a lip processing engine(s).

FIG. 1E is a diagram showing an example of an arch modeling engine(s).

FIG. 2A is an example of process diagram showing the segmentation of aperson's teeth from an image of the person's face.

FIGS. 2B-2F illustrate an example of detecting and processing dentaledges including tooth edges.

FIGS. 3A-3E illustrate an example of detecting and processing dentaledges including gingiva edges.

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate an example of detecting and processing dentaledges including lip edges.

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate an example of a region of interest (e.g., upperdental arch) for an example of segmentation.

FIGS. 5C-5F illustrate an example of processing an initial segmentationresult, an intermediate segmentation result, and a final segmentationresult from the dental edges.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart describing an example of a process for segmentinga person's teeth.

FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram showing an example of a dataprocessing system for designing and manufacturing an orthodonticaligner.

FIG. 8 shows an example of an orthodontic aligner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is related to systems, methods, computing devicereadable media, and devices for performing automated tooth segmentation(e.g., for dental, orthodontic, etc. applications) using anatomicalfeatures detected in images of people. The systems, methods, andcomputing devices herein may solve technical problems related to designand segmentation of images and/or models of a person's teeth.

People may wish to visualize the outcome of dental treatment such asorthodontic treatment (treatment for malocclusions of teeth, jaws,etc.), restorative treatment (treatment involving implants, restoringteeth, etc.) before committing to it. The tools provided herein enablepeople to visualize the effects of dental treatment on the arrangementof their teeth and/or visible parts of their smile. The segmentationapproaches described herein allow individuals to visualize how a dentaltreatment plan would affect a representation of their face (e.g., imagetaken through a mobile phone camera, image taken through a computercamera, image taken from a social media image, etc.).

As noted herein, a person (e.g., a putative patient, patient, etc. of adental treatment plan) may provide a two-dimensional (2D) representationof their face that shows visible parts of their teeth and/or softtissue, such as their lips and gums/gingiva. The edge detection toolsdescribed herein may detect anatomical edges that define parts of theteeth relative to the soft tissue and/or tooth edges of individual teethrelative to each other. The anatomical edges may be used to generatevarious landmarks that define the boundaries of a set of teeth (such asthe visible teeth in a single jaw of a person). Examples of landmarksinclude a soft tissue line that separates lips from gums/gingiva, and atooth line that defines the visible edges of the set of teeth. Thevisible edge of the teeth may include incisal edges of anterior teeth,occlusal edges of posterior teeth, and/or any edges of teeth that arefarthest from the roots of those teeth.

The landmarks may be used to form a segmented tooth model of the set ofteeth. A “segmented tooth model,” as used herein, may a virtualrepresentation of teeth partitioned into tooth segments, e.g.,representations of individual teeth of a set of teeth. A segmented toothmodel may have teeth partitioned by anatomical number/anatomicalidentifier, location, shape, etc. The tooth segments herein may, in someimplementations, represent the visible teeth in the 2D representationprovided by a person.

The methods and apparatuses described herein may be useful in planningand fabrication of dental appliances, including elastic polymericpositioning appliances, is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No.5,975,893, and in published PCT application WO 98/58596, which is hereinincorporated by reference for all purposes. Systems of dental appliancesemploying technology described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,893 arecommercially available from Align Technology, Inc., San Jose, Calif.,under the tradename, Invisalign System.

Throughout the body of the Description of Embodiments, the use of theterms “orthodontic aligner”, “aligner”, or “dental aligner” issynonymous with the use of the terms “appliance” and “dental appliance”in terms of dental applications. For purposes of clarity, embodimentsare hereinafter described within the context of the use and applicationof appliances, and more specifically “dental appliances.”

The methods and apparatuses (e.g., systems, devices, etc.) describedbelow can be used with and/or integrated into a dental treatment plan(e.g., an orthodontic treatment plan, a restorative treatment plan,etc.). The methods and apparatuses described herein may be used tosegment teeth, e.g., provide a segmented tooth model of teeth from atwo-dimensional image and segmentation information from a segmentedtooth model may be used to simulate, modify and/or choose betweenvarious dental treatment plans.

Segmenting the person's teeth can be done through automated agents(e.g., using a computing device). For example, segmentation can beperformed by a computing system by evaluating data (such as atwo-dimensional photo, a scan, and/or a representation of a dentalimpression) of the person's teeth or arch.

As described herein, a two-dimensional image can be taken of a person'steeth with an image capture device (camera, e.g., camera on a mobilephone, computer, etc.). The person can be positioned in front of thecamera and asked to smile to allow the image to capture the naturalsmile of the patient, including the visible teeth, gingiva, and lips ofthe patient. Multiple images of the person's teeth can be taken toensure the smile and teeth of the person are captured and in focus. Ingeneral, it is desirable for the image(s) to capture at least 6 of thepatient's teeth from edge to edge of the lips. After capturing theimage(s), the image(s) can be preprocessed by the computing device tofind the midline of the person's teeth and rotate the image until themidline is vertical.

In other embodiments, an intraoral scanner may image a person's dentalarch and generate a virtual three-dimensional model of that dental arch.During an intraoral scan procedure (also referred to as a scan session),a user (e.g., a dental practitioner) of an intraoral scanner maygenerate multiple different images (also referred to as scans or medicalimages) of a dental site, model of a dental site, or other object. Theimages may be discrete images (e.g., point-and-shoot images) or framesfrom a video (e.g., a continuous scan). The images can be preprocessedby the computing device as described above to find the midline androtate the images until the midline is vertical.

An automated tooth segmentation system, as used herein, may include asystem that uses automated agents to identify and/or number individualteeth and/or dental features of virtual representations of teeth, suchas teeth represented in a two-dimensional photographic image or a 3Ddental mesh model resulting from a digital scan.

The present disclosure presents one or more novel processes foridentifying and segmenting a person's teeth during a segmentationprocess. Some implementations herein may solve technical problemsrelated to optimizing and/or increasing the accuracy of digital dentalscanning technologies. The tooth segmentation processes described hereinadvantageously may: 1) Provide fully automatic segmentation with nohuman intervention needed; 2) Compensate for errors generated by machinelearning edge detectors; 3) Quickly and efficiently segment teeth; and4) Implement any machine learning edge detectors providing lip, gingiva,and tooth edges.

FIG. 1A is a diagram showing an example of a computing environment 100Aconfigured to digitally capture two-dimensional (2D) representations ofa dental arch. The computing environment 100A includes acomputer-readable medium 152, an imaging or scanning system 154, adentition display system 156, and an image processing system 158. One ormore of the modules in the computing environment 100A may be coupled toone another or to modules not explicitly shown.

The computer-readable medium 152 and other computer readable mediadiscussed herein are intended to represent a variety of potentiallyapplicable technologies. For example, the computer-readable medium 152can be used to form a network or part of a network. Where two componentsare co-located on a device, the computer-readable medium 152 can includea bus or other data conduit or plane. Where a first component isco-located on one device and a second component is located on adifferent device, the computer-readable medium 152 can include awireless or wired back-end network or LAN. The computer-readable medium152 can also encompass a relevant portion of a WAN or other network, ifapplicable.

The imaging or scanning system 154 may include a computer systemconfigured to capture still images, video, and/or other media of aperson's dental arch. The imaging or scanning system 154 may includememory, one or more processors, and sensors to detect contours on aperson's dental arch. The imaging or scanning system 154 may include asystem configured to provide a virtual representation of a mold ofperson's (e.g., a putative patient, a patient, etc.) dental arch. A“dental arch,” as used herein, may include at least a portion of aperson's dentition formed by the person's maxillary and/or mandibularteeth, when viewed from an occlusal perspective. A dental arch mayinclude one or more maxillary or mandibular teeth of a person, such asall teeth on the maxilla or mandible or a person. The imaging orscanning system 154 may be used as part of a dental treatment plan. Insome implementations, the imaging or scanning system 154 is configuredto capture a 2D representation of a person who is evaluating whether ornot to undergo dental treatment.

In some implementations, the imaging or scanning system 154 isconfigured to capture a putative patient's dental arch at a beginningstage, an intermediate stage, etc. of a dental treatment plan. Theimaging or scanning system 154 may include a device configured to obtainan image, such as an image of a person seeking dental treatment. Theimage capture system may comprise any type of mobile device (iOSdevices, iPhones, iPads, iPods, etc., Android devices, portable devices,tablets), PCs, cameras (DSLR cameras, film cameras, video cameras, stillcameras, etc.). In some implementations, the imaging or scanning system154 comprises a set of stored images, such as images stored on a storagedevice, a network location, a social media website, etc. In someimplementations, the imaging or scanning system 154 includes a computersystem configured to capture one or more scans of a person's dentition.The imaging or scanning system 154 may be configured to capture 2Dimages (e.g., images of a face, teeth, jaw, etc.) of a person. Theimages may include x-rays or other subsurface images, and/or 3D datarepresenting the person's teeth, face, gingiva, or other aspects of aperson. The imaging or scanning system 154 may also include a 2D imagingsystem, such as a still or video camera, an x-ray machine, or other 2Dimager. In some embodiments, the imaging or scanning system 154 alsoincludes a 3D imager, such as an intraoral scanner or an impressionscanner.

The dentition display system 156 may include a computer systemconfigured to display at least a portion of a dentition of a person. Thedentition display system 154 may include memory, one or more processors,and a display device to display the person's dentition. The dentitiondisplay system 156 may be implemented as part of a computer system, adisplay of a dedicated intraoral scanner, etc. In some implementations,the dentition display system 156 facilitates display of a person'sdentition using scans that are taken at an earlier date and/or at aremote location. It is noted the dentition display system 156 mayfacilitate display of scans taken contemporaneously and/or locally to itas well. As noted herein, the dentition display system 156 may beconfigured to display the intended or actual results of a dentaltreatment plan applied to a dental arch scanned by the scanning system154. The results may include 3D virtual representations of the dentalarch, 2D images or renditions of the dental arch, etc.

The image processing system 158 may include a computer system configuredto process images of a person's dentition taken by the imaging orscanning system 154. As noted herein, the image processing system 158may be configured to process scans of teeth in a dental arch. The imageprocessing system 158 may include image processing engine(s) 160, toothprocessing engine(s) 162, gingiva processing engine(s) 164, lipprocessing engine(s) 166, arch modeling engine(s) 168, and optionaltreatment modeling engine(s) 170. One or more of the modules of theimage processing system 158 may be coupled to each other or to modulesnot shown.

As used herein, any “engine” may include one or more processors or aportion thereof. A portion of one or more processors can include someportion of hardware less than all of the hardware comprising any givenone or more processors, such as a subset of registers, the portion ofthe processor dedicated to one or more threads of a multi-threadedprocessor, a time slice during which the processor is wholly orpartially dedicated to carrying out part of the engine's functionality,or the like. As such, a first engine and a second engine can have one ormore dedicated processors or a first engine and a second engine canshare one or more processors with one another or other engines.Depending upon implementation-specific or other considerations, anengine can be centralized or its functionality distributed. An enginecan include hardware, firmware, or software embodied in acomputer-readable medium for execution by the processor. The processortransforms data into new data using implemented data structures andmethods, such as is described with reference to the figures herein.

The engines described herein, or the engines through which the systemsand devices described herein can be implemented, can be cloud-basedengines. As used herein, a cloud-based engine is an engine that can runapplications and/or functionalities using a cloud-based computingsystem. All or portions of the applications and/or functionalities canbe distributed across multiple computing devices, and need not berestricted to only one computing device. In some embodiments, thecloud-based engines can execute functionalities and/or modules that endusers access through a web browser or container application withouthaving the functionalities and/or modules installed locally on theend-users' computing devices.

As used herein, “datastores” may include repositories having anyapplicable organization of data, including tables, comma-separatedvalues (CSV) files, traditional databases (e.g., SQL), or otherapplicable known or convenient organizational formats. Datastores can beimplemented, for example, as software embodied in a physicalcomputer-readable medium on a specific-purpose machine, in firmware, inhardware, in a combination thereof, or in an applicable known orconvenient device or system. Datastore-associated components, such asdatabase interfaces, can be considered “part of” a datastore, part ofsome other system component, or a combination thereof, though thephysical location and other characteristics of datastore-associatedcomponents is not critical for an understanding of the techniquesdescribed herein.

Datastores can include data structures. As used herein, a data structureis associated with a particular way of storing and organizing data in acomputer so that it can be used efficiently within a given context. Datastructures are generally based on the ability of a computer to fetch andstore data at any place in its memory, specified by an address, a bitstring that can be itself stored in memory and manipulated by theprogram. Thus, some data structures are based on computing the addressesof data items with arithmetic operations; while other data structuresare based on storing addresses of data items within the structureitself. Many data structures use both principles, sometimes combined innon-trivial ways. The implementation of a data structure usually entailswriting a set of procedures that create and manipulate instances of thatstructure. The datastores, described herein, can be cloud-baseddatastores. A cloud-based datastore is a datastore that is compatiblewith cloud-based computing systems and engines.

The image processing engine(s) 160 may implement one or more automatedagents configured to interface with the imaging or scanning system 154.The image processing engine(s) 160 may include graphics engines togather images or scans of a dental arch. In some implementations, theimage processing engine(s) 160 format raw data from an image or scan ofa dental arch into a 2D or 3D dental mesh model of the dental arch. The3D dental mesh models may comprise polyhedral objects that depict teethand/or other elements of the dental arch in a format that can berendered on the dentition display system 156. The image processingengine(s) 160 may provide 2D or 3D dental mesh models and/or other datato other modules of the scan processing system 158.

The tooth processing engine(s) 162 may implement one or more automatedagents configured to identify and/or accommodate dental structures. A“dental structure,” as used herein, may include any dental structure(e.g., tooth or combination of teeth) in a dental arch. In someimplementations, the tooth processing engine(s) 162 are configured toanalyze images or scans of a person's dental arch for a tooth lineand/or for tooth edges (e.g., the edges of teeth between adjacentteeth). The tooth processing engine(s) 162 may implement machinelearning edge detectors such as holistically nested edge detection todetect and analyze the tooth line and/or tooth edges in the dental arch.Other edge detectors including other types of machine learning edgedetectors can also be implemented by the tooth processing engine(s) 162.Additionally or alternatively, the tooth processing engine(s) 162 maycommunicate with the gingiva processing engine(s) 164 (or gingivaprocessing engine(s) 164 b, in FIG. 1C), the lip processing engine(s)166 (or lip processing engine(s) 166 b, in FIG. 1D), or the archmodeling engine(s) 168 (or arch modeling engine(s) 168 b in FIG. 1E). Insome examples, the tooth processing engine(s) 162 may combine or processthe edges detected by the tooth processing engine(s) 162 with the edgesdetected by another engine, such as the gingiva processing engine(s) 164or the lip processing engine(s) 166. For example, the tooth processingengine(s) 162 may combine the teeth edges detected by the toothprocessing engine(s) 162 with the lip edges detected by the lipprocessing engine(s) 166 to compute the tooth line of the person'sdental arch. In some examples, the tooth processing engine(s) can usecomputing or machine learning algorithms such as shortest pathalgorithms to process the tooth line from the tooth edges and lip edges.A “shortest path technique,” as used herein, may include a technique toidentify a smooth curve between two points, such as a starting point andan endpoint. An example shortest path technique used to identifyinter-tooth edges may involve: identifying a specified tooth of the setof teeth; identifying a starting point common to the specified tooth andthe soft tissue line; identifying an ending point common to thespecified tooth and the tooth line; defining a local region of interestincluding the starting point and the ending point; and defining a pathfrom the starting point and the ending point through the local region ofinterest, the path characterized by a sum of pixel values that areminimized relative to other paths from the starting point to the endingpoint through the local region of interest.

The Gingiva processing engine(s) may implement one or more automatedagents configured to identify and/or accommodate gingiva structures. A“gingiva structure,” as used herein, may include any gingiva structure(e.g., the gums or other soft tissue lining the mouth) in a dental arch.In some implementations, the gingiva processing engine(s) 164 areconfigured to analyze images or scans of a person's dental arch forgingiva edges. The gingiva processing engine(s) 164 may implementmachine learning edge detectors such as holistically nested edgedetection to detect and analyze the gingiva edges in the dental arch.Other edge detectors including other types of machine learning edgedetectors can also be implemented by the tooth processing engine(s) 162.Additionally or alternatively, the gingiva processing engine(s) 164 maycommunicate with the tooth processing engine(s) 162 (or tooth processingengine(s) 162 b, in FIG. 1B), the lip processing engine(s) 166 (or lipprocessing engine(s) 166 b, in FIG. 1D), or the arch modeling engine(s)168 (or arch modeling engine(s) 168 b in FIG. 1E). In some examples, thegingiva processing engine(s) 164 may combine or process the edgesdetected by the gingiva processing engine(s) 164 with the edges detectedby another engine, such as the tooth processing engine(s) 162 or the lipprocessing engine(s) 166. For example, the gingiva processing engine(s)164 may combine the gingiva edges detected by the gingiva processingengine(s) 164 with the lip edges detected by the lip processingengine(s) 166 to compute the gingiva/lip line of the person's dentalarch. In some examples, the lip processing engine(s) can use computingor machine learning algorithms such as shortest path algorithms toprocess the gingiva/lip line from the gingiva edges and lip edges.

The lip processing engine(s) 166 may implement one or more automatedagents configured to identify and/or accommodate lip structures. A “lipstructure,” as used herein, may include any lip structure (e.g., theedges of the upper and lower lips) of a person. In some implementations,the lip processing engine(s) 166 are configured to analyze images orscans of a person's dental arch for lip edges. The lip processingengine(s) 166 may implement machine learning edge detectors such asholistically nested edge detection to detect and analyze the tooth lineand tooth edges in the dental arch. Other edge detectors including othertypes of machine learning edge detectors can also be implemented by thelip processing engine(s) 166. Additionally or alternatively, the lipprocessing engine(s) 166 may communicate with the tooth processingengine(s) 162 (or tooth processing engine(s) 162 b, in FIG. 1B), gingivaprocessing engine(s) 164 (or gingiva processing engine(s) 164 b, in FIG.1C), or the arch modeling engine(s) 168 (or arch modeling engine(s) 168b in FIG. 1E). In some examples, the lip processing engine(s) 166 maycombine or process the edges detected by the lip processing engine(s)166 with the edges detected by another engine, such as the toothprocessing engine(s) 162 or the gingiva processing engine(s) 164. Forexample, the lip processing engine(s) 166 may combine the lip edgesdetected by the lip processing engine(s) 166 with the gingiva edgesdetected by the gingiva processing engine(s) 164 to compute thegingiva/lip line of the person's dental arch. In some examples, the lipprocessing engine(s) can use computing or machine learning algorithmssuch as shortest path algorithms to process the gingiva/lip line fromthe gingiva edges and lip edges. Additionally, the lip processingengine(s) 166 may combine the teeth edges detected by the toothprocessing engine(s) 162 with the lip edges detected by the lipprocessing engine(s) 166 to compute the tooth line of the person'sdental arch. In some examples, the lip processing engine(s) can usecomputing or machine learning algorithms such as shortest pathalgorithms to process the tooth line from the tooth edges and lip edges.

The arch modeling engine(s) 168 may implement one or more automatedagents configured to model 2D or 3D dental mesh models into virtualrepresentations of dental arches. In some implementations, the archmodeling engine(s) 168 assign physical and/or geometrical properties toa 2D or 3D dental mesh model that are related to physical/geometricalproperties of dental arches. The arch modeling engine(s) 168 may receiveedge detection results from the tooth processing engine(s) 162 (e.g.,the tooth line and/or tooth edges), the gingiva processing engine(s) 164(e.g., the gingiva edges and/or gingiva/lip line), and/or the lipprocessing engine(s) 166 (e.g., the lip edges and/or the gingiva/lipline), and combine selected edge detection results from the engines intoan initial segmentation result. For example, the arch modeling engine(s)168 may receive the gingiva/lip line from the gingiva processingengine(s) 164 or the lip processing engine(s) 166, may receive the toothedges from the tooth processing engine(s) 162, and may receive the toothline from the tooth processing engine(s) 162 or the lip processingengine(s) 166.

The arch modeling engine(s) 168 may be further configured to performimage segmentation such as region growing on the initial segmentationresult to fill all pixels in the region of interest and remove noise.The arch modeling engine(s) 168 can output the final segmentation resultto, for example, the optional treatment modeling engine(s) 170. As anexample, the arch modeling engine(s) 168 may also implement one or moreautomated segmentation agents that assign tooth identifiers (e.g.,universal tooth numbers) to specific portions of a 2D or 3D dental meshmodel. The arch modeling engine(s) 168 may further evaluate curvesand/or other geometric properties of a 2D or 3D dental mesh model todetermine whether a scan corresponds to a maxilla, a mandible, or otherportion of a person's dentition.

The optional treatment modeling engine(s) 170 may be configured to storedental treatment plans and/or the results of dental treatment plans. Theoptional treatment modeling engine(s) 170 may provide the results ofdental treatment plans on a 2D or 3D dental mesh model. The optionaltreatment modeling engine(s) 170 may model the results of application oforthodontic force systems and/or appliances, such as aligners to theperson's dental arch over the course of an orthodontic treatment plan.

FIG. 1B is a diagram showing an example of the tooth processingengine(s) 162 b. The tooth processing engine(s) 162 b may include anedge detection engine 172, a noise reduction engine 174, an edgecombination engine 175, and a tooth edge datastore 176. One or more ofthe modules of the tooth processing engine(s) 162 b may be coupled toeach other or to modules not shown.

The edge detection engine 172 may implement one or more automated agentsconfigured to scan a dental arch for segmentation data. “Segmentationdata,” as used herein, may include positions, geometrical properties(contours, etc.), and/or other data that can form the basis ofsegmenting a dental arch. The edge detection engine 172 may implementautomated agents to detect tooth edges and/or a tooth line in the dentalarch. In some implementations, the edge detection engine 172 scans 2D(e.g., a photograph) or 3D (e.g., dental mesh model) data for thesegmentation data.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example of a flow (process) diagram for a methodof automatically segmenting teeth from an image of a person's face. Asmentioned the image may be preprocessed to align it by finding themidline of the person's teeth and rotating the image until the midlineis vertical. The image may also be scaled, cropped, filtered, etc.Preprocessing may also confirm that the image is sufficiently sized,focused, or the like. Images that are not sufficiently sized and/orfocused may be rejected and a notification provided, or another imageselected and/or taken (manually or automatically).

Following preprocessing, the image may be further processed to detectedges: gingival edges, tooth edges and lip edges. In the example shownin FIG. 2A, the edge detection 285 is a machine learning edge detection,such as Holistically-Nested Edge Detection; any other edge-detection(including other machine learning edge detectors) may be used. Theresulting detected edges may be derived images showing possible edgeregions. These detected edges may be further processed, e.g., to reducenoise, such as by using one or more image processing noise reductiontechniques such as identifying a local maximum, thinning, shortest path,etc. As used herein, a “local maximum” technique may involve identifyinglocal regions of interest in a 2D representation and finding localmaxima of intensity values within each local region of interest. Theintensity values may simply exceed one or more intensity thresholds forthe local region of interest. (Though local maxima techniques aredescribed herein, it is noted some implementations may use “localminima,” where intensity values within various local regions of interestfall below a specified intensity threshold.)

As shown in FIG. 2A, the gingival edges 287, tooth edges 291 and lipedges 289 may then be used to determine the gingival line 293, the toothline 295, and the tooth-to-tooth edges 297. For example, the combinationof the gingival edges and the lip edges may be used to form thegingival/lip line. Similarly, the combination of the lip edges and toothedges may be used to form the tooth line. Finally the combination of thederived gingival/lip line and tooth line with the tooth edges may beused to form the tooth-to-tooth edges (lines). The tooth-to-tooth edgesas well as the gingival/lip line and tooth line may then be used todetermine the segmentation result (e.g., person tooth segmentationresult) 299.

FIG. 2B is an example of a 2D digital photograph 200 of a person'sdental arch that may be scanned by the edge detection engine 172. FIG.2C is an example of tooth edges 202 detected by the edge detectionengine 172 from the 2D digital photograph of FIG. 2A.

The noise reduction engine 174 may implement one or more automatedagents configured to remove noise from or refine the edges detected bythe edge detection engine 172. For example, the noise reduction engine174 may implement a noise reduction algorithm or noise reduction machinelearning algorithm to remove noise from or refine the edges detected bythe edge detection engine 172. In some examples, the algorithm can be alocal maximum algorithm. FIG. 2D is an example of modified tooth edges204 after applying the noise reduction algorithm with the noisereduction engine 180 to the tooth edges 202 from FIG. 2C.

The edge combination engine 175 may implement one or more automatedagents configured to combine or overlay edges detected by the edgedetection engine 172 with edges detected by one of the other modules,such as the gingiva processing engine(s) 164 or the lip processingengine(s) 166. The edge combination engine 175 may also implement one ormore automated agents configured to calculate and output a section orportion of the combined or overlaid edges. For example, the edgecombination engine 175 may overlay the tooth edges detected by the toothprocessing engine(s) 162 with the lip edges detected by the lipprocessing engine(s) 166 to form combined tooth and lip edges. The edgecombination engine 175 may then implement an algorithm to the combinedtooth and lip edges, such as a shortest path algorithm, to calculate ordetermine a tooth line. FIG. 2E illustrates an example of combined 206tooth edges 204 and lip edges 404 (described below), comprising thetooth edges detected by the tooth processing engine(s) 162 overlaid withthe lip edges detected by the lip processing engine(s) 166. FIG. 2F isan example of tooth line 208 derived from this combination afterapplying a shortest path algorithm to the combined tooth and lip edges206 from FIG. 2E.

The tooth edge datastore 176 may be configured to store data related tomodel dental arches from the edge detection engine 172, the noisereduction engine 174, or the edge combination engine 175. The modeldental arch data may comprise tooth edges, tooth lines, combined toothand lip edges, or other combined or processed edge data from the othermodules.

FIG. 1C is a diagram showing an example of the gingiva processingengine(s) 164 b. The gingiva processing engine(s) 164 b may include anedge detection engine 178, a noise reduction engine 180, an edgecombination engine 181, and a gingiva edge datastore 182. One or more ofthe modules of the tooth processing engine(s) 162 b may be coupled toeach other or to modules not shown.

The edge detection engine 178 may implement one or more automated agentsconfigured to scan a dental arch for segmentation data. The edgedetection engine 178 may implement automated agents to detect gingivaedges in the dental arch. In some implementations, the edge detectionengine 178 scans 2D (e.g., a photograph) or 3D (e.g., dental mesh model)data for the segmentation data. FIG. 3A is an example of a 2D digitalphotograph 300 of a person's dental arch that may be scanned by the edgedetection engine 178 (the same image is used for FIGS. 2B, 3A and 4A,corresponding to tooth edge detection, gingiva edge detection and lipedge detection, respectively). FIG. 3B is an example of gingiva edges302 detected by the edge detection engine 178 from the 2D digitalphotograph of FIG. 3A.

The noise reduction engine 180 may implement one or more automatedagents configured to remove noise from or refine the edges detected bythe edge detection engine 178. For example, the noise reduction engine180 may implement a noise reduction algorithm or noise reduction machinelearning algorithm to remove noise from or refine the edges detected bythe edge detection engine 180. In some examples, the algorithm can be alocal maximum algorithm. FIG. 3C is an example of modified gingiva edges304 after applying the noise reduction algorithm with the noisereduction engine 180 to the gingiva edges 302 from FIG. 3B.

The edge combination engine 181 may implement one or more automatedagents configured to combine or overlay edges detected by the edgedetection engine 178 with edges detected by one of the other modules,such as the tooth processing engine(s) 162 or the lip processingengine(s) 166. The edge combination engine 181 may also implement one ormore automated agents configured to calculate and output a section orportion of the combined or overlaid edges. For example, the edgecombination engine 181 may overlay the gingiva edges detected by thegingiva processing engine(s) 164 with the lip edges detected by the lipprocessing engine(s) 166 to form combined gingiva and lip edges. Theedge combination engine 181 may then implement an algorithm to thecombined gingiva and lip edges, such as a shortest path algorithm, tocalculate or determine a gingiva/lip line. FIG. 3D illustrates anexample of combined 306 gingiva edges 304 and lip edges 404 (upper lipedge, e.g., from FIG. 4C) comprising the gingiva edges detected by thegingiva processing engine(s) 164 overlaid with the lip edges detected bythe lip processing engine(s) 166. FIG. 3E is an example of gingiva/lipline 308 after applying a shortest path algorithm to the combinedgingiva and lip edges 306 from FIG. 3D.

The gingiva edge datastore 182 may be configured to store data relatedto model dental arches from the edge detection engine 178, the noisereduction engine 180, or the edge combination engine 181. The modeldental arch data may comprise gingiva edges, lip edges, gingiva/liplines, or other combined or processed edge data from the other modules.

FIG. 1D is a diagram showing an example of the lip processing engine(s)166 b. The lip processing engine(s) 166 b may include an edge detectionengine 184, a noise reduction engine 186, an edge combination engine187, and a lip edge datastore 188. One or more of the modules of the lipprocessing engine(s) 166 b may be coupled to each other or to modulesnot shown.

The edge detection engine 184 may implement one or more automated agentsconfigured to scan a dental arch for segmentation data. The edgedetection engine 184 may implement automated agents to detect lip edgesin the dental arch. In some implementations, the edge detection engine184 scans 2D (e.g., a photograph) or 3D (e.g., dental mesh model) datafor the segmentation data. FIG. 4A is an example of a 2D digitalphotograph 400 of a person's dental arch that may be scanned by the edgedetection engine 184. FIG. 4B is an example of lip edges 402 detected bythe edge detection engine 184 from the 2D digital photograph of FIG. 4A.

The noise reduction engine 186 may implement one or more automatedagents configured to remove noise from or refine the edges detected bythe edge detection engine 184. For example, the noise reduction engine186 may implement a noise reduction algorithm or noise reduction machinelearning algorithm to remove noise from or refine the edges detected bythe edge detection engine 186. In some examples, the algorithm can be athinning and/or shortest path algorithm. FIG. 4C is an example ofmodified lip edges 404 after applying the noise reduction algorithm withthe noise reduction engine 186 to the lip edges 402 from FIG. 4B.

The edge combination engine 187 may implement one or more automatedagents configured to combine or overlay edges detected by the edgedetection engine 184 with edges detected by one of the other modules,such as the tooth processing engine(s) 162 or the gingiva processingengine(s) 164. The edge combination engine 187 may also implement one ormore automated agents configured to calculate and output a section orportion of the combined or overlaid edges. For example, the edgecombination engine 187 may overlay the tooth edges detected by the toothprocessing engine(s) 162 with the lip edges detected by the lipprocessing engine(s) 166 to form combined tooth and lip edges, or mayoverlay the gingiva edges detected by the gingiva processing engine(s)164 with the lip edges detected by the lip processing engine(s) 166 toform combined gingiva and lip edges. This implementation can be the sameas described above with respect to the other modules and to FIGS. 2D and3D. The edge combination engine 187 may then implement an algorithm tothe combined tooth and lip edges, or to the combined gingiva and lipedges, such as a shortest path algorithm, to calculate or determine atooth line and/or a gingiva/lip line. FIG. 2E illustrates an example ofcombined tooth and lip edges 206, comprising the tooth edges detected bythe tooth processing engine(s) 162 overlaid with the lip edges detectedby the lip processing engine(s) 166. FIG. 3D illustrates an example ofcombined gingiva and lip edges 306, comprising the gingiva edgesdetected by the gingiva processing engine(s) 164 overlaid with the lipedges detected by the lip processing engine(s) 166. FIG. 2F is anexample of tooth line 208 after applying a shortest path algorithm tothe combined tooth and lip edges 206 from FIG. 2E. FIG. 3E is an exampleof gingiva/lip line 308 after applying a shortest path algorithm to thecombined gingiva and lip edges 306 from FIG. 3D.

The lip edge datastore 188 may be configured to store data related tomodel dental arches from the edge detection engine 184, the noisereduction engine 186, or the edge combination engine 187. The modeldental arch data may comprise lip edges, tooth lines, gingiva/lip lines,or other combined or processed edge data from the other modules.

FIG. 1E is a diagram showing an example of the arch modeling engine(s)168 b. The arch modeling engine(s) 168 b may include an edge combinationengine 190, an image segmentation engine 192, and a segmentation resultdatastore 194. One or more of the modules of the arch modeling engine(s)168 b may be coupled to each other or to modules not shown.

In any of the methods and apparatuses described herein, the region ofinterest may be limited to the upper dental arch (e.g., maxilla). Morespecifically, the region of interest 590 may be determined from theupper gingival line 308 (FIG. 3E) and the tooth line 208 (FIG. 2F), asshown in FIG. 5B. FIG. 5A (as in FIGS. 2A, 3A and 4A, shows the image ofthe person's face.

The edge combination engine 190 may implement one or more automatedagents configured to combine or overlay edges from any of the othermodules, such as the tooth processing engine(s) 162, the gingivaprocessing engine(s) 164, or the lip processing engine(s) 166. Forexample, the edge combination engine 190 can combine the tooth edges andtooth line from the tooth processing engine(s) 162 (e.g., tooth edges204 and tooth line 208 from FIGS. 2D and 2F), and the gingiva/lip linefrom the gingiva processing engine(s) 164 or the lip processingengine(s) 166 (e.g., gingiva/lip line 308 from FIG. 3E) to form aninitial segmentation result. FIG. 5C shows an example of an initialsegmentation result 500 that combines or overlays the tooth edges 204(FIG. 2D), tooth line 208 (FIG. 2F), and gingiva/lip line 308 (FIG. 3E).

The image segmentation engine 192 may implement one or more automatedagents configured to remove noise from or refine the initialsegmentation result from the edge combination engine 190 to produce anintermediate segmentation result. For example, the image segmentationengine 192 may implement a noise reduction algorithm or noise reductionmachine learning algorithm to remove noise from or refine the initialsegmentation result from the edge combination engine 190. In someexamples, the algorithm can be a shortest path algorithm. FIG. 5D is anexample of a shortest past algorithm 502 being applied to the initialsegmentation result 500 from FIG. 5C. The gingiva/lip line can besegmented into a series of start points, and for each start point, thealgorithm can identify a corresponding end point on the tooth line andfind the shortest path from the start point on the gingiva/lip line tothe end point on the tooth line. The algorithm is repeated for each ofthe start and end points. The result is an intermediate segmentationresult 506 shown in FIG. 5E.

The image segmentation engine 192 may further implement one or moreautomated agents configured to remove noise from or refine theintermediate segmentation result to produce a final segmentation result.For example, the image segmentation engine 192 may implement a noisereduction algorithm or noise reduction machine learning algorithm toremove noise from or refine the intermediate segmentation result from.In some examples, the algorithm can be a region growing algorithm. Theregion growing algorithm can all closed regions in the intermediatesegmentation result and perform region growing within the closed regionsuntil all pixels are filled. Small regions below a region threshold canbe removed to eliminate or reduce noise. The algorithm is repeated foreach closed region. The result is a final segmentation result 508 shownin FIG. 5F.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart 600 that describes an automated toothsegmentation process for properly segmenting teeth without humanintervention. For example, flowchart 600 describes a process forsegmenting a 2D digital photograph of a person's arch as shown in FIG.2A. Referring to step 602 of flowchart 600, the process includesdetecting dental edges including tooth edges, gingiva edges, and/or lipedges. This can be performed, for example, on a 2D image or a 3D dentalmesh model of a person's dental arch.

Next, at step 604, the process optionally includes processing thedetected edges from step 602 to reduce noise in the detected edges. Theprocessing can be, for example, applying a noise reduction algorithmsuch as a local maximum, thinning, or shortest path algorithm. Examplesof the result of this processing step are shown in FIGS. 2D, 3C, and 4C,as described above.

Next, at step 606, the process includes combining the detected edgesfrom either step 602 or step 604 to produce a tooth line and/or agingiva/lip line. The combining can be, for example, applying analgorithm such as shortest path to produce the tooth line and/or thegingiva/lip line from the tooth edges, gingiva edges, and/or lip edges.Examples of the result of this processing step are shown in FIGS. 2F and3E, as described above.

Next, at step 608, the process includes combining the tooth line, toothedges, and gingiva/lip line to form an initial segmentation result. Anexample of an initial segmentation result is shown in FIG. 5C, asdescribed above.

At step 610, the process includes applying noise reduction to theinitial segmentation result to form a final segmentation result. Theapplying can be, for example, applying an algorithm such as shortestpath algorithm to reduce noise in the initial segmentation result,and/or further applying region growing within closed regions in theinitial segmentation result to remove noise and closed regions smallerthan a region threshold.

The methods described herein may be performed by an apparatus, such as adata processing system, which may include hardware, software, and/orfirmware for performing many of these steps described above. Forexample, FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of a data processingsystem 800. Data processing system 800 typically includes at least oneprocessor 802 which communicates with a number of peripheral devicesover bus subsystem 804. These peripheral devices typically include astorage subsystem 806 (memory subsystem 808 and file storage subsystem814), a set of user interface input and output devices 818, and aninterface to outside networks 816, including the public switchedtelephone network. This interface is shown schematically as “Modems andNetwork Interface” block 816, and is coupled to corresponding interfacedevices in other data processing systems over communication networkinterface 824. Data processing system 800 may include a terminal or alow-end personal computer or a high-end personal computer, workstationor mainframe.

The user interface input devices typically include a keyboard and mayfurther include a pointing device and a scanner. The pointing device maybe an indirect pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, touchpad, orgraphics tablet, or a direct pointing device such as a touchscreenincorporated into the display. Other types of user interface inputdevices, such as voice recognition systems, may be used.

User interface output devices may include a printer and a displaysubsystem, which includes a display controller and a display devicecoupled to the controller. The display device may be a cathode ray tube(CRT), a flat-panel device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), or aprojection device. The display subsystem may also provide nonvisualdisplay such as audio output.

Storage subsystem 806 maintains the basic programming and dataconstructs that provide the functionality of the present invention. Thesoftware modules discussed above are typically stored in storagesubsystem 806. Storage subsystem 806 typically comprises memorysubsystem 808 and file storage subsystem 814.

Memory subsystem 808 typically includes a number of memories including amain random access memory (RAM) 810 for storage of instructions and dataduring program execution and a read only memory (ROM) 812 in which fixedinstructions are stored. In the case of Macintosh-compatible personalcomputers the ROM would include portions of the operating system; in thecase of IBM-compatible personal computers, this would include the BIOS(basic input/output system).

File storage subsystem 814 provides persistent (nonvolatile) storage forprogram and data files, and typically includes at least one hard diskdrive and at least one floppy disk drive (with associated removablemedia). There may also be other devices such as a CD-ROM drive andoptical drives (all with their associated removable media).Additionally, the system may include drives of the type with removablemedia cartridges. The removable media cartridges may, for example behard disk cartridges, such as those marketed by Syquest and others, andflexible disk cartridges, such as those marketed by Iomega. One or moreof the drives may be located at a remote location, such as in a serveron a local area network or at a site on the Internet's World Wide Web.

In this context, the term “bus subsystem” is used generically so as toinclude any mechanism for letting the various components and subsystemscommunicate with each other as intended. With the exception of the inputdevices and the display, the other components need not be at the samephysical location. Thus, for example, portions of the file storagesystem could be connected over various local-area or wide-area networkmedia, including telephone lines. Similarly, the input devices anddisplay need not be at the same location as the processor, although itis anticipated that the present invention will most often be implementedin the context of PCS and workstations.

Bus subsystem 804 is shown schematically as a single bus, but a typicalsystem has a number of buses such as a local bus and one or moreexpansion buses (e.g., ADB, SCSI, ISA, EISA, MCA, NuBus, or PCI), aswell as serial and parallel ports. Network connections are usuallyestablished through a device such as a network adapter on one of theseexpansion buses or a modem on a serial port. The client computer may bea desktop system or a portable system.

Scanner 820 is responsible for scanning casts of the person's teethobtained either from the person or from an orthodontist and providingthe scanned digital data set information to data processing system 800for further processing. In a distributed environment, scanner 820 may belocated at a remote location and communicate scanned digital data setinformation to data processing system 800 over network interface 824.

Fabrication machine 822 fabricates dental appliances based onintermediate and final data set information received from dataprocessing system 800. In a distributed environment, fabrication machine822 may be located at a remote location and receive data set informationfrom data processing system 800 over network interface 824.

The dental appliance fabricated by the fabrication machine 822 can bedesigned to implement at least a portion of a treatment plan, comprisinga shell having a plurality of cavities therein designed to receive teethof a jaw.

In another embodiment, the system 800 of FIG. 7 can include anon-transitory computing device readable medium having instructionsstored thereon that are executable by a processor to cause a computingdevice to receive, via a computing device, data representing a pluralityof teeth and generate a series of incremental tooth arrangements todefine a proposed dental treatment.

Various alternatives, modifications, and equivalents may be used in lieuof the above components. Although the final position of the teeth may bedetermined using computer-aided techniques, a user may move the teethinto their final positions by independently manipulating one or moreteeth while satisfying the constraints of the prescription.

Additionally, the techniques described here may be implemented inhardware or software, or a combination of the two. The techniques may beimplemented in computer programs executing on programmable computersthat each includes a processor, a storage medium readable by theprocessor (including volatile and nonvolatile memory and/or storageelements), and suitable input and output devices. Program code isapplied to data entered using an input device to perform the functionsdescribed and to generate output information. The output information isapplied to one or more output devices.

Each program can be implemented in a high level procedural orobject-oriented programming language to operate in conjunction with acomputer system. However, the programs can be implemented in assembly ormachine language, if desired. In any case, the language may be acompiled or interpreted language.

Each such computer program can be stored on a storage medium or device(e.g., CD-ROM, hard disk or magnetic diskette) that is readable by ageneral or special purpose programmable computer for configuring andoperating the computer when the storage medium or device is read by thecomputer to perform the procedures described. The system also may beimplemented as a computer-readable storage medium, configured with acomputer program, where the storage medium so configured causes acomputer to operate in a specific and predefined manner.

FIG. 8 shows an orthodontic aligner 100, which can be used with themethods and apparatuses (including modified by) described above.

While preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been shownand described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the artthat such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerousvariations, changes, and substitutions will now occur to those skilledin the art without departing from the invention. It should be understoodthat various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention describedherein may be employed in practicing the invention. Numerous differentcombinations of embodiments described herein are possible, and suchcombinations are considered part of the present disclosure. In addition,all features discussed in connection with any one embodiment herein canbe readily adapted for use in other embodiments herein. It is intendedthat the following claims define the scope of the invention and thatmethods and structures within the scope of these claims and theirequivalents be covered thereby.

When a feature or element is herein referred to as being “on” anotherfeature or element, it can be directly on the other feature or elementor intervening features and/or elements may also be present. Incontrast, when a feature or element is referred to as being “directlyon” another feature or element, there are no intervening features orelements present. It will also be understood that, when a feature orelement is referred to as being “connected”, “attached” or “coupled” toanother feature or element, it can be directly connected, attached orcoupled to the other feature or element or intervening features orelements may be present. In contrast, when a feature or element isreferred to as being “directly connected”, “directly attached” or“directly coupled” to another feature or element, there are nointervening features or elements present. Although described or shownwith respect to one embodiment, the features and elements so describedor shown can apply to other embodiments. It will also be appreciated bythose of skill in the art that references to a structure or feature thatis disposed “adjacent” another feature may have portions that overlap orunderlie the adjacent feature.

Terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention.For example, as used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/orgroups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items and may beabbreviated as “/”.

Spatially relative terms, such as “under”, “below”, “lower”, “over”,“upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description todescribe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) orfeature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that thespatially relative terms are intended to encompass differentorientations of the device in use or operation in addition to theorientation depicted in the figures. For example, if a device in thefigures is inverted, elements described as “under” or “beneath” otherelements or features would then be oriented “over” the other elements orfeatures. Thus, the exemplary term “under” can encompass both anorientation of over and under. The device may be otherwise oriented(rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relativedescriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. Similarly, the terms“upwardly”, “downwardly”, “vertical”, “horizontal” and the like are usedherein for the purpose of explanation only unless specifically indicatedotherwise.

Although the terms “first” and “second” may be used herein to describevarious features/elements (including steps), these features/elementsshould not be limited by these terms, unless the context indicatesotherwise. These terms may be used to distinguish one feature/elementfrom another feature/element. Thus, a first feature/element discussedbelow could be termed a second feature/element, and similarly, a secondfeature/element discussed below could be termed a first feature/elementwithout departing from the teachings of the present invention.

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless thecontext requires otherwise, the word “comprise”, and variations such as“comprises” and “comprising” means various components can be co-jointlyemployed in the methods and articles (e.g., compositions and apparatusesincluding device and methods). For example, the term “comprising” willbe understood to imply the inclusion of any stated elements or steps butnot the exclusion of any other elements or steps.

In general, any of the apparatuses and methods described herein shouldbe understood to be inclusive, but all or a sub-set of the componentsand/or steps may alternatively be exclusive, and may be expressed as“consisting of” or alternatively “consisting essentially of” the variouscomponents, steps, sub-components or sub-steps.

As used herein in the specification and claims, including as used in theexamples and unless otherwise expressly specified, all numbers may beread as if prefaced by the word “about” or “approximately,” even if theterm does not expressly appear. The phrase “about” or “approximately”may be used when describing magnitude and/or position to indicate thatthe value and/or position described is within a reasonable expectedrange of values and/or positions. For example, a numeric value may havea value that is +/−0.1% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−1%of the stated value (or range of values), +/−2% of the stated value (orrange of values), +/−5% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−10%of the stated value (or range of values), etc. Any numerical valuesgiven herein should also be understood to include about or approximatelythat value, unless the context indicates otherwise. For example, if thevalue “10” is disclosed, then “about 10” is also disclosed. Anynumerical range recited herein is intended to include all sub-rangessubsumed therein. It is also understood that when a value is disclosedthat “less than or equal to” the value, “greater than or equal to thevalue” and possible ranges between values are also disclosed, asappropriately understood by the skilled artisan. For example, if thevalue “X” is disclosed the “less than or equal to X” as well as “greaterthan or equal to X” (e.g., where X is a numerical value) is alsodisclosed. It is also understood that the throughout the application,data is provided in a number of different formats, and that this data,represents endpoints and starting points, and ranges for any combinationof the data points. For example, if a particular data point “10” and aparticular data point “15” are disclosed, it is understood that greaterthan, greater than or equal to, less than, less than or equal to, andequal to 10 and 15 are considered disclosed as well as between 10 and15. It is also understood that each unit between two particular unitsare also disclosed. For example, if 10 and 15 are disclosed, then 11,12, 13, and 14 are also disclosed.

Although various illustrative embodiments are described above, any of anumber of changes may be made to various embodiments without departingfrom the scope of the invention as described by the claims. For example,the order in which various described method steps are performed mayoften be changed in alternative embodiments, and in other alternativeembodiments one or more method steps may be skipped altogether. Optionalfeatures of various device and system embodiments may be included insome embodiments and not in others. Therefore, the foregoing descriptionis provided primarily for exemplary purposes and should not beinterpreted to limit the scope of the invention as it is set forth inthe claims.

The examples and illustrations included herein show, by way ofillustration and not of limitation, specific embodiments in which thesubject matter may be practiced. As mentioned, other embodiments may beutilized and derived there from, such that structural and logicalsubstitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scopeof this disclosure. Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter maybe referred to herein individually or collectively by the term“invention” merely for convenience and without intending to voluntarilylimit the scope of this application to any single invention or inventiveconcept, if more than one is, in fact, disclosed. Thus, althoughspecific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of segmenting a set of teeth, the methodcomprising: receiving a two-dimensional (2D) representation including atleast a portion of a face, the 2D representation representing a visibleportion of the set of teeth, first soft tissue, and second soft tissuein the face; detecting one or more first anatomical edges in the 2Drepresentation, the one or more first anatomical edges defining the setof teeth relative to the first soft tissue; detecting one or more secondanatomical edges in the 2D representation, the one or more secondanatomical edges defining the set of teeth relative to the second softtissue; detecting one or more third anatomical edges in the 2Drepresentation, the one or more third anatomical edges defining toothedges of individual teeth of the set of teeth; generating, from the oneor more first anatomical edges and the one or more second anatomicaledges, a soft tissue line separating the first soft tissue from thesecond soft tissue; generating, from the one or more second anatomicaledges and the one or more third anatomical edges, a tooth line defininga visible edge of the set of teeth; and forming, using the soft tissueline and the tooth line, a segmented tooth model from the set of teeth,the segmented tooth model comprising a plurality of tooth segmentscorresponding to the set of teeth.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thevisible edge of the set of teeth comprises one or more edges farthestfrom roots of one or more teeth of the set of teeth.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein at least some of the plurality of tooth segmentsrepresent the individual teeth of the set of teeth.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first soft tissue comprises lips of the face, thesecond soft tissue comprises gingiva associated with the set of teeth,or some combination thereof.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstanatomical edges separate the teeth from the first soft tissue, thesecond anatomical edges separate the teeth from the second soft tissue,or some combination thereof.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein detectingthe one or more first anatomical edges comprises identifying firstregions of intensity corresponding to the one or more first anatomicaledges.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the one or moresecond anatomical edges comprises identifying second regions ofintensity corresponding to the one or more second anatomical edges. 8.The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the one or more thirdanatomical edges comprises identifying third regions of intensitycorresponding to the one or more third anatomical edges.
 9. The methodof claim 1, further comprising reducing noise in the one or more firstanatomical edges, the one or more second anatomical edges, the one ormore third anatomical edges, or some combination thereof.
 10. The methodof claim 1, further comprising reducing noise in the one or more firstanatomical edges, the one or more second anatomical edges, the one ormore third anatomical edges, or some combination thereof; whereinreducing the noise comprises identifying local regions in the 2Drepresentation and finding local maxima within each of the localregions.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the soft tissueline comprises identifying first intensity regions within the one ormore first anatomical edges and the one or more second anatomical edges,the first intensity regions having first intensity values exceeding afirst intensity threshold.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein generatingthe tooth line comprises identifying second intensity regions within theone or more second anatomical edges and the one or more third anatomicaledges, the second intensity regions having second intensity valuesexceeding a second intensity threshold.
 13. The method of claim 1,wherein forming the segmented tooth model comprises identifyinginter-tooth edges between the individual teeth.
 14. The method of claim13, wherein identifying inter-tooth edges between the individual teethcomprises: identifying a specified tooth of the set of teeth;identifying a starting point common to the specified tooth and the softtissue line; identifying an ending point common to the specified toothand the tooth line; defining a local region of interest including thestarting point and the ending point; defining a path from the startingpoint and the ending point through the local region of interest, thepath characterized by a sum of pixel values that are minimized relativeto other paths from the starting point to the ending point through thelocal region of interest.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the 2Drepresentation is taken from a mobile phone or a computer.
 16. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising capturing the 2D representation ona mobile phone or a computer.
 17. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising gathering the 2D representation from a website or a networkedlocation.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein the face is associated witha putative patient or a patient of a dental treatment plan.
 19. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the method is executed as part of simulatinga dental treatment plan, an orthodontic treatment plan, a restorativetreatment plan, or some combination thereof.
 20. A system comprising:one or more processors; and one or more storage media coupled to the oneor more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by theone or more processors, performs a computer-implemented method ofsegmenting teeth, the method comprising: receiving a two-dimensional(2D) representation including at least a portion of a face, the 2Drepresentation representing a visible portion of a set of teeth, firstsoft tissue, and second soft tissue in the face; detecting one or morefirst anatomical edges in the 2D representation, the one or more firstanatomical edges defining the set of teeth relative to the first softtissue; detecting one or more second anatomical edges in the 2Drepresentation, the one or more second anatomical edges defining the setof teeth relative to the second soft tissue; detecting one or more thirdanatomical edges in the 2D representation, the one or more thirdanatomical edges defining tooth edges of individual teeth of the set ofteeth; generating, from the one or more first anatomical edges and theone or more second anatomical edges, a soft tissue line separating thefirst soft tissue from the second soft tissue; generating, from the oneor more second anatomical edges and the one or more third anatomicaledges, a tooth line defining a visible edge of the set of teeth; andforming, using the soft tissue line and the tooth line, a segmentedtooth model from the set of teeth, the segmented tooth model comprisinga plurality of tooth segments corresponding to the set of teeth.
 21. Thesystem of claim 20, further comprising an image capture deviceconfigured to: generate the 2D representation; and display an updated 2Drepresentation including at least the portion of the face, the updated2D representation displaying a simulated treatment outcome of a dentaltreatment plan, an orthodontic treatment plan, a restorative treatmentplan, or some combination thereof.